Tag Archives: books

How to…read your reading list and search for readings in the Library

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Got your reading list but not sure what you’re being asked to read (is it a book, is it an article, is it a bird, is it a plane…)? Or are you just not sure how you’re meant to search for and find these items in the Library (in print or online)?

It may just be the first week of semester but many of you will already be required to start reading material in preparation for your lectures, seminars or tutorials. Finding and accessing this material can be an early hurdle for many new students but don’t panic, it can be a lot easier than you think.

Learning how to read your reading list and recognise references now will make you more confident using the Library and will save you a lot of time in your studies later. And these skills will be of use to you at all stages of your University life and beyond.

What’s in a reading list?

Reading lists are just lists of essential, recommended or further readings for your course. They can include a wide range of material including books, book chapters, journal articles, documentaries, films, newspaper articles, websites, blogs, etc., but I am going to concentrate on the 3 most common:

  • Books
  • Book chapters
  • Journal articles

Continue reading →

On trial: Codices Vossiani Latini Online

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Thanks to a request from a member of staff in Classics, we currently have trial access to Brill’s Codices Vossiani Latini Online which publishes all 363 codices which form the world-famous Latin part of Isaac Vossius’ manuscript collection held at Leiden University Library.

 

You can access this resource via the E-resources trials page. Access is available both on and off-campus.

Trial access ends 27th September 2017.

Screenshot from VLQ 079 – Aratea, c. 850.

Isaac Vossius (1618-1689) was a Dutch scholar and collector of manuscripts, maps, atlases and printed works, who for a few years was also the court librarian to Queen Christina of Sweden. According to contemporaries Vossius’s extensive library was the best in Europe, if not the world, and after he died his library of books and manuscripts was sold to the University of Leiden. Continue reading →

On trial: Early European Books

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*The Library has access to all Early European Books collections until 31st July 2024 as part of ProQuest Access 350.*

Following a request from staff in History the Library currently has trial access to all collections available in ProQuest’s Early European Books, a database that aims to trace the history of printing in Europe from its origins to 1700.

While the Library already gives you access to Collections 1-4, this trial period gives you access to the further 7 collections currently available in Early European Books.

You can access this resource via the E-resources trials page. Access is available both on and off-campus.

Trial access ends 15th September 2017.

Building on the success of Early English Books Online (EEBO) – which the Library already has access to – Early European Books is set to encompass all European printed material, and material printed in European languages, from the early modern period. Continue reading →

5 things to remember if using the Library this summer, 2017

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I wrote a “5 things to remember if using the Library this summer” post last year and it is the second most viewed post on this site. So shamelessly clinging to the coat-tails of that post, this is an updated version for 2017.

We’re creeping ever closer to the official end of the academic year (Friday 26 May) and while some of you may already have finished, to those that haven’t, keep going you are almost there!

While many of you are probably thinking the last thing you’d want to do is use or visit the Library over your summer break, there will be a large number of students who want to or need to use the Library during the summer vacation period to continue with their studies or research.

So if you are one of the many who is planning on using Library facilities or services over the summer then read on. And for those of you who aren’t planning on this maybe you should read on anyway just in case (particularly if you have not returned borrowed books).

1) The Main Library and other site libraries remain open throughout the summer vacation period.

Opening hours and Helpdesk staffed hours will be reduced in some libraries so keep an eye on the opening hours web site and follow the Library on social media for updates e.g. @EdUniLibraries, @EdUniMainLib, Facebook, etc. Continue reading →

New books in the Library for History, Classics and Archaeology

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Thanks to recommendations from members of staff and requests via RAB from students the Library is continually adding new books to its collections both online and in print. Here are just a (very) small number of the books that have been added to the Library’s collections in semester two, 2016/17 for the School of History, Classics and Archaeology and these demonstrate the wide range of subjects being taught, studied and researched within School.

Mesopotamia: ancient art and architecture by Zainab Bahrani (shelfmark: Folio N5370 Bah.)

JFK and the masculine mystique: sex and power on the New Frontier by Steven Watts (shelfmark: HQ1090.3 Wat.)

A social history of tea: tea’s influence on commerce, culture & community by Jane Pettigrew and Bruce Richardson (shelfmark: GT2907.G7 Pet.)

The culture of clothing: dress and fashion in the ‘ancien régime’ by Daniel Roche ; translated by Jean Birrell (shelfmark: GT857 Roc.)

The topography of violence in the Greco-Roman world edited by Werner Riess and Garrett G. Faga (e-book).

Sicily: culture and conquest by Dirk Booms and Peter Higgs (shelfmark: DG865 Boo.) Continue reading →

New books in the Library for History, Classics and Archaeology

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Thanks to recommendations from members of staff and requests via RAB from students the Library is continually adding new books to its collections both online and in print. Here are just a (very) small number of the books that have been added to the Library’s collections in semester one, 2016/17 for the School of History, Classics and Archaeology and these demonstrate the wide range of subjects being taught, studied and researched within School.

–> Find these and more via DiscoverEd.

childrens_crusade_bookcoverFrom Constantinople to the Frontier edited by Nicholas S. M. Matheou, Theofili Kampianaki; Lorenzo M Bondioli (e-book).

Iron age hillfort defences and the tactics of sling warfare by Peter Robertson (shelfmark: GN780.22.G7 Rob.)

The Children’s Crusade: medieval history, modern mythistory by Gary Dickson (Shelfmark: D169 Dic. Also available as e-book).

Masculinity, class and same-sex desire in industrial England, 1895-1957 by Helen Smith (Shelfmark: HQ1090.7.G7 Smi.)

Classics renewed: reception and innovation in the Latin poetry of Late Antiquity edited by Scott McGill, Joseph Pucci (e-book). Continue reading →

Beginner’s guide to finding a book in DiscoverEd

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Got a book you need to find in the Library but not sure how to search for it in DiscoverEd? This beginner’s guide should help.

If searching for a known book use a combination of title and author keywords.

–> Search DiscoverEd

For example, if you were looking for this book:

A.A.M. Duncan, Scotland: the making of the kingdom (Edinburgh, 1992).

You could do a search using the keywords “duncan”, “Scotland”, “making” and “kingdom”. DiscoverEd will look for items that include all the keywords in the item record.

IF Continue reading →

Reading your reading list and recognising references

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Got your reading list but not sure what you’re being asked to read (is it a book, is it an article, is it a bird, is it a plane…)? Or are you just not sure how you’re meant to search for and find these items in the Library (in print or online)?

lego_book_puzzled_othershelf2_resized

Being unsure about this is very common for new students so you’re not alone but if you can learn how to read your reading list and recognise references now it will make you more confident using the Library and will save you a lot of time and effort in your studies. And these skills will be of use to you at all stages of your University life and beyond.

What’s in a reading list?

Reading lists are just lists of essential, recommended or further readings for your course. They can include a wide range of material including books, book chapters, journal articles, documentaries, films, newspaper articles, websites, blogs, etc., but I am going to concentrate on the 3 most common:

  • Book
  • Book chapter
  • Journal article

Continue reading →

New to the Library: Samos archaeological reports

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Further to a request from staff in HCA the Library is currently in the process of trying to purchase a copy of all available volumes of the Samos series of archaeological reports published by the Deutsches Archäologisches Institut.

SOMAS_inside_drawings

Samos is one of the most important archaeological sites of the ancient Mediterranean world and this series of reports on excavations of the site provides essential data for staff and students research. Continue reading →

Some new Library resources for you

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On the HCA Librarian blog I have highlighted new resources or material that have been purchased for the Library’s collections from requests from students or staff in the School of History, Classics and Archaeology.

However, new resources purchased from requests from other schools in the College of Humanities & Social Sciences and beyond may also be of interest to HCA students and staff. I generally tweet about these but I thought I’d put a quick post together just to highlight some of these resources.

In no particular order…

Historical Statistics of the United States: Millennial Edition Online

Historical_Statistics_United_States

Historical Statistics of the United States (HSUS) is a compendium of statistics about the United States and is the standard source for the quantitative facts of American history. –> Find out more

IndiaStat Continue reading →